Climate Change at the Doorstep

This PBS video focuses on sea level rise in Norfolk, Virginia and how the residents are managing the logistical, financial and political implications. Science journalists who have been studying Norfolk's rising sea level problems are interviewed, as well as local residents who are being impacted.

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Notes From Our Reviewers

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Teaching Tips

Teaching Tips

Norfolk, Virginia has a major base of the U.S. Navy, which takes climate change and sea level rise very seriously.

This video offers a case study of a community where sea level rise is already an issue and a glimpse of the related social and infrastructure issues.

Comments from expert scientist: It mentions both land-ice melt and thermal expansion of water as drivers of sea-level rise. Resource includes the role of local subsidence (Norfolk, VA is built on drained wetlands--easily compressed compared to bedrock).

About the Pedagogy

This video offers viewers an example of how climate change impacts a community through sea level rise.